This past year has seen many changes in the community banking industry. Some of these issues we expected and some had more of an impact than maybe we would have thought. As we reflect and look forward to 2016, we asked several of our colleagues to weigh in regarding what we saw, what we expect and how to best prepare for the coming new year. Timothy R ...
For better or worse, lenders have become increasingly familiar with the strange dynamic that is the post-bankruptcy minefield created by their borrowers filing a bankruptcy petition. Immediately, lenders begin thinking about how they can minimize the write-off, how they can reduce exposure, how they can avoid violations of the automatic stay, whether they can convince a borrower to reaffirm debt, and many other questions that often must be analyzed situationally ...
Virtual currencies are once again at the forefront of discussion about top issues facing community banks and the financial industry as a whole. The Independent Community Bankers of America (“ICBA”), a trade association representing more than 6,500 community banks, recently published its list of top issues for the fourth quarter of 2015. Among them were the risks associated with virtual currencies ...
On 23 January 2015, the Supreme Court delivered a judgment concerning the moderation of an invalid non-competition clause in a business transfer agreement. This judgment arose after the Ghent Court of Appeal had refused to moderate a non-competition obligation lasting for period of 17 years. In line with previous case law, the clause was declared absolutely null and void and the Ghent Court of Appeal ruled that the clause could not be mitigated in any way ...
This week, in Teladoc, Inc. v. Texas Medical Board, 1-15-CV-343 RP, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, in one of the first federal decisions interpreting North Carolina State Board of Dental Examiners v. Federal Trade Commission, 135 S. Ct. 1101 (2015), denied the Texas Medical Board immunity from an antitrust claim in a narrow reading of the state-action immunity doctrine. To read the full alert, click here ...
On November 14, 2015, the Supreme Court of Canada rendered three decisions on the application of the the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act, RSC 1985, c. B-3 (BIA) and its interaction with certain provincial statutes.OVERVIEW OF THE FACTSIn Saskatchewan (Attorney General) v. Lemare Lake Logging Ltd. Ltd ...
Cuba’s stated goal of attracting billions of dollars in foreign investment combined with the United States’ effort to re-establish diplomatic ties with Cuba have sparked intensified interest amongst potential investors seeking to enter the Cuban market.As with any emerging market, potential investors must balance the potential risks faced in doing business with the potential return on their investment ...
The Delaware Division of Corporations (the “Division”) recently announced that effective December 1, 2015, its Uniform Commercial Code (“UCC”) filing office will no longer accept paper UCC filings submitted directly to the State of Delaware via regular mail, courier or fax. The Division will instead require that all UCC filings be submitted to the Division electronically.To read the full alert, click here ...
The September 2015 issue of the International Financial Law Review (IFLR) included an international briefing article by SyCipLaw partner Arlene M. Maneja entitled “Competition law enacted.”Download a PDF copy of the article or read the article online at the IFLR website ...
The Philippines section of The Mergers & Acquisitions Review 9th Edition contains an overview of M&A activity in the country, general introduction to the legal framework for M&A, developments in corporate and takeover law and their impact, foreign involvement in M&A transactions, significant transactions, key trends and hot industries, financing of M&A, main sources and developments, employment law, tax law, competition law, and outlook ...
The Philippine chapter of Getting the Deal Through: Islamic Finance & Markets 2016 was contributed by SyCipLaw Managing Partner Rafael A. Morales with Amer Hussein N. Mambuay. The chapter includes information on policies, legislation and supervision covering Islamic finance in the Philippines, contracting concepts, products, and updates and trends ...
Last October 30, the provincial government announced the creation of 'Passeport Entreprises', an action plan focused on two main points: to facilitate access by businesses to government contracts and make the Quebec government's tendering processes more transparent and rigorous ...
Since the new Chinese government came into power in 2013, it has proposed a host of new strategies to realise the “Chinese Dream”. One of the more significant strategies, led personally by President Xi Jinping, is known as “One Belt, One Road” plan, which will have a huge, undeniable impact on the global economy over the next 10 years. The One Belt, One Road strategy aims to provide a comprehensive roadmap for partnership between China and the rest of the world ...
The Trans-Pacific Partnership, or TPP is a free-trade agreement among the members: Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, Vietnam and the United States.On Nov. 5, the full text of the TPP trade agreement was released to the public for the first time. While, as reported, an agreement on the TPP was reached Oct. 5, each of the members must still enact it.An important component is the chapter on investments, which protects investors ...
As of 3 February 2016, the new Law on Consensual Financial Restructuring (“Law”) will introduce an improved framework for voluntary debt restructuring in Serbia (“Restructuring”). The Law was adopted as a part of a national strategy to address the increasing number of non-performing loans in the country, which was adopted in August 2015 (“Strategy”).[1] The Law will replace the existing Law on Consensual Financial Restructuring of 2011, which produced modest results in practice ...
Modern day company law has largely moved away from the concept of “ultra vires” which sought to limit the ability of a company to enter into transactions outside its stated objects. The British Virgin Islands officially moved away from the concept in 2005 pursuant to provisions under the BVI Business Companies Act ...
Known worldwide for its robust shipping registry, trusts, funds, and corporate law sectors, the British Virgin Islands is emerging as a globally competitive jurisdiction for registering and protecting intellectual property, thanks to the enactment of the highly anticipated Trade Mark Act, 2013. The Act, which clarifies, protects, and streamlines the trademark processes, institutes beneficial legal proceedings and conditions for the welfare of intellectual and industrial properties in the BVI ...
To incubate is to keep something in a suitable environment for a term where it can develop to its full potential. Increasingly, the concept is being applied to hedge funds, where “to incubate” implies structured conditions for the development and verification of investment strategies over time. As such, an incubator fund is ideal for start-up and emerging managers who do not have much capital but aim to attract greater sums of capital in the near future ...
The Canada Public Sector Pension Investment Board launches a lawsuit against Saba Capital: Lessons for fund managers when valuing illiquid securitiesOn September 25, 2015 the Public Sector Pension Investment Board (the “PSP Investment Board”) filed a lawsuit before the New York State Supreme Court against Saba Capital, the hedge fund managed by Boaz Weinstein (the former co-chief of the credit business at Deutsche Bank AG), for allegedly “manipulating the value” of certain of Saba Capital’s inve
Systemic amendments to Poland’s Bankruptcy & Recovery Law enter into force on 1 January 2016. The main goal of the amendment is to create separate restructuring proceedings governed by the new Restructuring Law. Restructuring proceedings are to replace the former bankruptcy proceedings involving conclusion of an arrangement, as well as recovery proceedings, currently conducted under the Bankruptcy & Recovery Law ...
On 22 September 2015, the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California considered whether Warner/Chappel Music, Inc. (Warner) owned the copyright to the infamous Happy Birthday lyrics. U.S. District Judge George H. King held that Warner, which had been receiving c$2million dollars per year in royalties, failed to adduce convincing evidence that it owned the copyright to the Happy Birthday lyrics (as distinct from the melody which is already in the public domain) ...
The Trans-Pacific Partnership (“TPP”) is a free-trade agreement among Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, Vietnam and the United States (the “TPP Members”). While, as reported, an agreement on the TPP was reached on October 5, 2015, each of the TPP Members must still enact the TPP. On November 5, 2015, the full text of the TPP trade agreement was released to the public for the first time ...
CANADIAN INVESTMENTS IN CUBATheHelms-Burton Actand its risks for Canadian investors in CubaRecommandations for investorsProspects in the face of the thaw in U.S ...
The staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division of Corporation Finance, in connection with its review of periodic reports filed by exploration and production (E&P) companies in 2015, has recently issued a number of comment letters to these companies asking them to quantify the impact of low commodity prices on their proved reserves and results of operations ...
International Financial Law Review (IFLR) in association with Euromoney Yearbooks recently published the Global Banking & Financial Policy Review 2015/2016. The Philippine section was contributed by SyCipLaw Managing Partner Rafael A. Morales. The section is an Overview of Legal and Regulatory Developments in the Philippines such as the Liberalization of Financial Sector, Islamic Banking and Finance, Financial Consumer Protection, and Prospects ...
